New kid on the block #12 Cerritos leaves State Women's Volleyball Top 25 without an undefeated team

Cerritos College is back at the state tourney after a 30-year wait.
Cerritos College is back at the state tourney after a 30-year wait.
October 21, 2024

 

The 2017 Irvine Valley College women's volleyball state champion team continues to remain the last to go undefeated in a season at 27-0. Ironically, the head coach of that squad, Tom Pestolesi, indirectly helped make sure there would be no one reaching perfection in 2024.

After retiring from IVC and head coaching in 2020, Pestolesi has served as an assistant coach for his daughter, Cerritos head coach Kari Hemmerling. On Wednesday, it was the family Pestolesi directing the Falcons as they knocked off the last of the unbeaten this year in Long Beach City, taking down the Vikings in four sets.

The upset has created excitement as #12 Cerritos, a school that last won a state title in 1992, has affected the placement of several teams high in this week's CCCWVCA State Top 25 Rankings. 

The Western State Conference North Division continues to be a war as #9 Santa Barbara City, #10 Moorpark, #11 LA Mission and #17 Ventura are all beating each other.

The rest of the top 10 is San Joaquin Delta at #1, Fresno City now at #2, Sierra at #3, Long Beach at #4, San Diego Mesa at #5, American River at #6, Grossmont at #7, and Feather River holding the #8 spot. 

Meanwhile in the Coast Conference South Division, Best of the Rest participant West Valley got past previous #T25 Ohlone in five sets and all of a sudden grabbed that division's lead. Monterey Peninsula beat Las Positas to take over the Coast North first place occupancy.

It's blocks leaders week in this week's rankings, so here's a salute to the top 25's leading middle blockers/stuffs specialists.

  1. SAN JOAQUIN DELTA, Big 8, 20-1: The Mustangs swept Santa Rosa for their 11th straight victory. Their Big 8 lead is 8-0. Soleil Sands averages 1 block kill per set. NorCal #1; Last Week's State Rank: #1
  2. FRESNO CITY, Central Valley, 19-4: The Rams' CVC win streak is at 185, the current overall win string at 12, with sweeps over Coalinga and Reedley. They top the conference at 9-0. Reese Cuttone averages .82 blocks. Fresno moves up two spaces. NorCal #2; Last Week's State Rank: #4
  3. SIERRA, Big 8, Big 8, 19-4: The Wolverines swept Diablo Valley and beat Modesto in four to stretch win streak to five. Wyievee Binda averages .69 blocks. Sierra climbs two slots. NorCal: #3; Last Week's State Rank: #5
  4. LONG BEACH CITY, South Coast South, 15-1: The Vikings saw their 14-match win streak stopped by Cerritos in four, then swept Compton. Jubilee Allen leads the state at a 1.35 blocks average. LBCC slides two spots. SoCal #1; Last Week's State Rank: #2
  5. SAN DIEGO MESA, Pacific Coast Athletic, 17-1: The Olympians have won eight in a row, defeating Cuyamaca and beating Grossmont for a second time (first a sweep) in four sets. They top the PCAC at 10-0. Isabella Barrios averages .75 blocks. Mesa drops two positions. SoCal: #2; Last Week's State Rank: #3
  6. AMERICAN RIVER, Big 8, 18-4: The Beavers swept Sacramento and Diablo Valley. Celestine Hayes averages .88 blocks. NorCal #4; Last Week's State Rank: #6
  7. GROSSMONT, Pacific Coast Athletic, 14-7: The Griffins swept SD Miramar and won the first set v. Mesa but their consecutive set streak was stopped at 18 in losing to the Olympians in four. Daisy Ekeya averages .93 blocks. SoCal #3; Last Week's State Rank: #7
  8. FEATHER RIVER, Golden Valley, 19-7: The Golden Eagles swept Shasta and Butte to up the GVC win streak to 67, then lost a non-conference match to NCAA D3 UC Santa Cruz. Mia Rivera averages .78 blocks. NorCal #5; Last Week's State Rank: #8
  9. SANTA BARBARA CITY, Western State North, 14-3: The Vaqueros swept Pierce for their fourth straight victory. Bella Nasiri averages .91 blocks. SBCC goes up a rung on the ladder. SoCal #4; Last Week's State Rank: #10
  10. MOORPARK, Western State North, 15-4: The Raiders swept Cuesta, then won an epic battle v. LA Mission in five (16-14) as they momentarily lead the hotly-contested WSC North at 5-1 with SBCC at 4-1. Abby Montana averages .58 blocks. MC pushes up a spot. SoCal #5; Last Week's State Rank: #11
  11. LA MISSION, Western State North, 19-2: The Eagles swept LA Pierce, then lost to Moorpark (lost the point battle just 108-105). Lillian Pisarczyk is second in the state in blocks average at 1.33. Mission slipped two spaces. SoCal #6; Last Week's State Rank: #9
  12. CERRITOS, South Coast South, 10-2: The Falcons are on an 8-match win streak after the big 4-set triumph over Long Beach, then a sweep of LA Harbor as they lead the SCC South at 4-0. Sydney May was a State Player of the Week. Jaqueline Torres averages .80 blocks. SoCal #7; Last Week's State Rank: #12
  13. ORANGE COAST, Orange Empire, 15-2: The Pirates swept Fullerton and Saddleback (won 16 straight sets) and now are in a 3-way tie for first with Saddleback and Riverside City in the OEC at 7-1. Caprie Troccoli averages .61 blocks. OCC moves up a space. SoCal #8; Last Week's State Rank: #14
  14. MT. SAN ANTONIO, South Coast North, 13-6: The Mounties did not play last week. Jordyn Romano is ninth in the state in blocks at 1.03 per set. Mt. SAC slips one spot. SoCal: #9; Last Week's State Rank:#13
  15. TAFT, Central Valley, 20-3: The Cougars swept Sequoias and defeated Coalinga in four. Jayde Gonzalez averages .88 blocks. NorCal #6; Last Week's State Rank: #15
  16. SANTA MONICA, Western State South, 10-7: The Corsairs did not play last week. Angela Morgan-Perry averages .86 blocks. SoCal #10; Last Week's State Rank: #16
  17. VENTURA, Western State North, 9-7: The Pirates got past Allan Hancock in four. Taylor Lane averages .94 blocks. SoCal #11; Last Week's State Rank: #17
  18. SAN MATEO, Coast South, 13-6: The Bulldogs swept San Jose City and Skyline. Aniyah Hill averages .71 blocks and was a State Player of the Week. NorCal #7; Last Week's State Rank: #18
  19. SOLANO, Bay Valley, 19-4: The Falcons BVC streak is now at 64 matches with sweeps over Los Medanos and Napa Valley. Solano has won 17 straight sets and seven matches in a row. Jada Cuffie averages .84 blocks and was a State Player of the Week. NorCal #8; Last Week's State Rank: #19
  20. BAKERSFIELD, Western State South, 11-7: The Renegades swept Glendale and Citrus, have won four straight, and have a slight edge in the WSC South race at 5-1. Alexandra Watts is #4 in the state in blocks at 1.28 per set. SoCal #12; Last Week's State Rank: #20
  21. PASADENA CITY, South Coast North, 11-11: The Lancers swept Rio Hondo and LA City to reach at least the .500 mark for the first time since Aug. 31. Savannah Curtis is fifth in the state in blocks at a 1.14 average. SoCal #13; Last Week's State Rank: #21
  22. CANYONS, Western State South, 9-8: The Cougars swept West LA. Leah Gillie averages .94 blocks. SoCal #14: Last Week's State Rank: #22
  23. SHASTA, Golden Valley, 19-6: The Knights had a 5-match win streak snapped by Feather River in three, then beat Siskioyous in four. Shelbie Rogers averages .60 blocks. NorCal #9; Last Week's State Rank: #23
  24. PALOMAR, Pacific Coast, 10-4: The Comets swept San Bernardino Valley and beat Southwestern in four for their fourth straight win. Brisa Necochea and Teiora Tinoisamoa each average .80 blocks. SoCal #15; Last Week's State Rank: #24
    T25. MIRACOSTA, Pacific Coast Athletic, 10-6:     The Spartans record their fourth consective sweep, beat San Diego City. Feagaiga Naotala averages .58 blocks. Last Week's State Rank: #T25
     T25. MT. SAN JACINTO, Inland Empire Athletic, 12-8: the Eagles swept Chaffey, have won six in a row, and top the IEAC at 6-0. Hailey Frary averages .71 blocks. Last Week's State Rank: #T25

    BEST OF THE REST
     Saddleback, Orange Empire, 11-4: The Bobcats were swept by Orange Coast, then swept Cypress. Last Week's State Rank: #T25
    Riverside City, Orange Empire, 13-5: The Tigers swept Santa Ana and Golden West. 
     Ohlone, Coast South, 17-4: The Renegades swept Gavilan, then were beaten by West Valley in five as their 5-set matches total eight on the season (5-3).
    NorCal #10; Last Week's State Rank: #T25
    Merced, Central Valley, 15-3: The Blue Devils extend their win streak to six by beating Lemoore in four and sweeping Columbia. NorCal #11
    San Bernardino Valley, Inland Empire Athletic, 12-7: The Wolverines were swept by Palomar, then swept Desert. 
    Coalinga, Central Valley, 15-6: The Falcons were swept by Fresno and lost to Taft in four. NorCal #12
     Sequoias, Central Valley, 13-10: The Giants were swept by Taft, then swept Porterville. NorCal #13
     Cosumnes River, Big 8, 12-8: The Hawks swept Santa Rosa. NorCal #14
    Sacramento City, Big 8, 12-13: The Panthers were swept by Delta, then beat Folsom Lake in four. NorCal #T15
    Santa Rosa, Big 8, 12-10: The Bear Cubs were swept by Delta and Cosumnes River. NorCal #T15
     West Valley, Coast South, 9-11: The Vikings have won four straight as their 5-set win over Ohlone places them in the Coast South lead at 4-0. NorCal #T15
     Cuesta, Western State North, 11-10: The Cougars recovered from a brutal 3-set loss to Moorpark (scored just 23 points), then beat Allan Hancock in four.     
    Modesto, Big 8, 11-11: The Pirates swept Folsom Lake, then took a set from Sierra in a defeat.
     Monterey Peninsula, Coast North, 11-3: The Lobos swept Las Positas and beat De Anza in four to take over the Coast North lead at 4-0.   
    Hartnell, Coast North, 10-12: The Panthers swept De Anza and Cabrillo as head coach Jamie Pedroza records milestone win #250 in her career in the Mountain Lions match.
    Las Positas, Coast North, 8-4: The Hawks had an 8-match win streak snapped in 3-set loss to Monterey Peninsula, then swept San Francisco. 
    Allan Hancock, Western State North, 10-5: The Bulldogs lost to both Ventura and Cuesta in four each.
    Cypress, Orange Empire, 8-10: The Chargers were swept by Saddleback.    
    Desert, Inland Empire Athletic, 9-9: The Roadrunners swept Copper Mountain, then had a 4-match win string stopped by San Bernardino Valley in three. 
    Southwestern, Pacific Coast Athletic, 9-9: The Panthers swept Imperial Valley and lost in four to Palomar. 
    Los Medanos, Bay Valley, 10-13: The Mustangs were swept by Solano, then swept Contra Costa. 

    Rankings/Release by Robert Lewis, CCCWVCA SID